Road markings

ABSTRACT

A lamp for road marking comprising a deformable preferably resilient translucent tubular holder, a lamp bulb within the holder being carried by a rigid transverse mounting disc preferably force fitted within the holder so as to provide an externally dilated wall portion wherein the disc is longitudinally retained. The lamps may be mounted in spaced hazard cones with the bulbs connected in parallel.

United States Patent 3,696,237 Whitehead 1 Oct. 3, 1972 ROAD MARKINGS 2,748,256 5/1956 Moran ..240/ 100 X [72] Inventor, Bernard Whitehead Park 2,871,343 1/1959 Whitney ..240/ 10 Road Bradford 9, England 2,957,444 10/1960 Boettler ..116/63 3,132,624 5/ 1964 Shoemaker, Jr ..116/63 F1led= J n 1970 3,233,352 2/1966 Projector et a1. ..40/130 [21] APPL 1,206 2,826,680 3/1958 Cline ..240/52 X FOREIGN PATENTS OR APPLICATIONS i Pmmy Data 563,979 1/1957 Italy ..116/63 Jan. 11, 1969 Great Britain ..l,758/69 Primary Examiner-Louis J. Capozi [52] US. Cl. ..240/ 1, 116/63 P, 40/125 N Attorney-Norris & Bateman [51] Int. Cl ..F21 [58] Field of Search 16/63, 63 P; 40/125 N, [57] ABSTRACT ;Z6f A lamp for road marking comprising a deformable l0 6 11 A 9 preferably resilient translucent tubular holder, a lamp 23 bulb within the holder being carried by a rigid transverse mounting disc preferably force fitted within the holder so as to provide an externally dilated wall por- [56] References cued tion wherein the disc is longitudinally retained. The UNITED STATES PATENTS lamps may be mounted in spaced hazard cones with the bulbs connected in parallel. 2,512,129 6/1950 Appleby ..240/10 X 2,532,800 12/ 1950 Adinamis et a1 ..240/10 X 8 Claims, 6 Drawing Figures PATENTEDncTs m2 3.696.237

SHEET 2 BF 3 INVENTOR: BERNARD WHITEHEAD 7 )Mfw) lihwwm PAIENTEnnma m2 3,696,237

sum 3 or 3 IN VENTOR BERNARD WHITEHEAD ATTORNEYS ROAD MARKINGS One of the problems of modern traffic control which is especially acute on motorways, is that of rapidly providing indication of some obstruction or other hazard. For example, if there are road works of any kind or if there has been an accident and there are stationary vehicles on the road, it is necessary to mark off an area as prohibited to traffic and this marking has to be illuminated so that it is clearly visible even at night time or in foggy conditions. The traditional method of marking by means of separate paraffin lamps is slow, and the lamps are easily knocked over and extinguished.

The present invention in one aspect provides a lamp for road marking which is adapted for illuminating road signs or markings. In another aspect, the invention provides a temporary lighting system and barrier for road marking which is very easily installed. The invention also provides a means of indicating the presence of a pedestrian particularly personnel engaged in traffic control duties.

According to this invention a lamp for road or hazard marking comprises a transparent or translucent tubular holder adapted to house an electric lamp bulb, and provided with means for connecting to an electric cable, the holder having an external protrusion whereby when it is forced into a resilient part of an article to be illuminated, it causes temporary deflection of that part.

Preferably the holder is made of transparent plastics material, and it may have a partition part way along its length to provide a support for a bulb fitting. If the partition is of-harder material than the tube, then the partition can be made in the form of a disc of larger diame ter than the bore of the tube, so that when pressed into position, it deforms the tube to create a dilation of the tube at that position. The lampholder may be enclosed in a colored plastics jacket.

According to a preferred feature of the invention a temporary lighting system for road markings comprises a series of lamps each in accordance with the invention connected in parallel by a cable. Preferably the cable is enclosed in a sheath of brightly colored material such as plastics tube. A temporary lighting system in accordance with the invention will now be described by way of example only with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which:

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a lampholder for illuminating a hazard cone, the holder being sheathed in a plastics jacket,

FIG. 2 is a perspective view of a hazard cone,

FIG. 3 is a perspective view of set of wired up hazard cones marking off an area of roadway;

FIG. 4 is a side view of a traffic controller carrying a portable lighting system on his person;

FIG. 5 is a partial view in section showing the lampholder mounting; and

FIG. 6 is a partial sectional view of one of the hazard cones shown in FIG. 3 illustrating disposition of a lampholder within the cone with its protective sheath slid away and disposed outside of the cone.

Referring now to the accompanying drawings, a lampholder is in the form of a tube 10 made of a transparent plastics material which is relatively soft, so that the lampholder is well able to withstand blows. A disc 12 of hard plastics material is forced into one end of the tube 10, and its outside diameter is greater than the bore of the tube, so that when it is in position, it produces an annular dilation 14 near one end of the tube. The disc provides a mounting base for a bulbholder socket 16 and two terminals 18 for the bulb connections are at the opposite side of the base to the bulbholder. A low wattage bulb 20 can be inserted through the end of the tube which is open, but when in position the bulb is entirely within and protected by two diametrically opposite longitudinal projecting portions 22 formed as part of the tube.

The other end of the tube is formed with a flap 24 which extends longitudinally beyond that end of the tube and which can be folded over and secured to the diametrically opposite outside of the tube by a rivet 26. This method of securing nips the tube together but does not totally close that end, in that, two gaps 27 are left, one on each side of the flap 24. Two twin core cables 28 are connected to the terminals 18 and are both sheathed by flexible fluoroescent plastics tubes 30. Each of the sheathed twin-core cables passes through one of the gaps 27 produced by the nipping of the tube and to ensure that the cables are tightly secured to the lampholder, their respective sheaths 30 are secured by the rivet 26 to the inside of the tube.

A small portion of transparent plastics tube of somewhat smaller diameter to that of the tube 10 is provided on the terminal side of the disc 12 to support the disc 12 in order to prevent it tilting, and the portion 32 is securely held in position by the wedging action produced by the nipped end of the tube tube.

A flexible fluorescent plastics jacket 34 has one end nipped together by a rivet 36, thereby forming two smaller openings at that end. When a lampholder is placed in the jacket, the two cables 28 from the lampholder each pass through one of the two smaller openings formed in the jacket.

The lampholder is intended to be used with hazard cones for emergency purposes. A cone (as shown in FIG. 2) has a round hole 38 formed in its top and by the insertion of a lampholder the cone can be internally illuminated. When it is necessary to mark off an area of roadway (a s shown in as FIG. 3), a supply of cones and a cable drum are carried in a vehicle. As the vehicle moves forward, a cone is placed in position and one of the lampholders after being slipped out of its respective jacket 34 so that its jacket hangs on the two cables 28, is pushed into the hole 38. The dilated portion 14 of the holder will expand the hole 38 in the cone, and when the holder is pushed through this hole, it cannot be removed without a strong upward pull to again expand the hole. FIG. 6 illustrates the disposition of a lampholder within a cone after the lampholder has been slipped out of its fluorescent jacket 34, which remains outside of the cone on the cables.

The process is repeated with each cone and then the cable is connected at one end to an electric supply (Le. a battery 40) of appropriate voltage. This has the effect of connecting all the lamps in parallel. The lamps illuminate their respective cones and both the cable sheathing 30 and the jackets 34 on the cable help to deliniate the dangerous area. Furthermore, the spacing of the tubes on the cable maintains correct spacing of the cones and the cabling provides a probing barrier for blind persons.

It will be appreciated that the lampholders could be pressed into other types of marking device so long as the latter could deform slightly to allow the dilated portion to pass. It will also be appreciated that larger wattage lamps could be illuminated or flashed if the cables could be connected to an appropriate electrical supply.

Since the lampholders are provided with retractable colored jackets 34, the'lighting system can be used in a variety of ways. For example, the lamps could be slung around road hazards, vehicles or laid on the road surface without being fitted into cones. The system can be adapted to be carried on the person of a traffic controller in the form of a shoulder sling using a portable dry battery 42 as a power source. This system as shown in FIG. 4 employs the battery 42 connected to two lampholders, one worn on the front of the person and one on the back.

What is claimed is:

l. A lamp for road marking comprising a translucent tubular holder having a deformable annular wall section, lamp mounting member means disposed within said holder at said section having an outer peripheral dimension greater than the interior peripheral dimension of said holder for annularly dilating said holder outwardly at said wall section and maintaining said wall section in an expanded, dilated attitude whereby said lamp mounting member means is longitudinally retained within said holder, a lamp socket on said member, a lamp bulb in said socket surrounded by said holder, electric cable means extending through the bottom of said holder to said socket, said holder bottom including flap means formed integrally therewith for wrapping about said cable means and fastening means for securing said flap means about said cable means to said tubular holder bottom.

2. A lamp for road marking according to claim 1, in which said holder is enclosed in a colored jacket.

3. The lamp defined in claim 1, wherein said holder is a transparent plastic tube.

4. The lamp defined in claim 1, wherein said holder is an integral uniform diameter tube of deformable relatively resilient plastic material and said lamp mounting member is a relatively rigid transverse partition within the holder.

5. The lamp defined in claim 4, wherein said member is a disc capable of being forced endwise into said holder as permitted by flexure of the holder wall.

6. The lamp defined in claim 1, wherein said member comprises a transverse partition disposed intermediate the ends of said holder.

7. A lamp for road marking according to claim 6, in which said partition is of a harder material than said holder, and has an outside diameter larger than the bore of said holder, so that when in position, said partition deforms said wall section to create said external protrusion around said holder.

8. The lamp defined in claim 6, including a tubular support element wedged within said holder with one end contacting said partition. 

1. A lamp for road marking comprising a translucent tubular holder having a deformable annular wall section, lamp mounting member means disposed within said holder at said section having an outer peripheral dimension greater than the interior peripheral dimension of said holder for annularly dilating said holder outwardly at said wall section and maintaining said wall section in an expanded, dilated attitude whereby said lamp mounting member means is longitudinally retained within said holder, a lamp socket on said member, a lamp bulb in said socket surrounded by said holder, electric cable means extending through the bottom of said holder to said socket, said holder bottom including flap means formed integrally therewith for wrapping about said cable means and fastening means for securing said flap means about said cable means to said tubular holder bottom.
 2. A lamp for road marking according to claim 1, in which said holder is enclosed in a colored jacket.
 3. The lamp defined in claim 1, wherein said holder is a transparent plastic tube.
 4. The lamp defined in claim 1, wherein said holder is an integral uniform diameter tube of deformable relatively resilient plastic material and said lamp mounting member is a relatively rigid transverse partition within the holder.
 5. The lamp defined in claim 4, wherein said member is a disc capable of being forced endwise into said holder as permitted by flexure of the holder wall.
 6. The lamp defined in claim 1, wherein said member comprises a transverse partition disposed intermediate the ends of said holder.
 7. A lamp for road marking according to claim 6, in which said partition is of a harder material than said holder, and has an outside diameter larger than the bore of said holder, so that when in position, said partition deforms said wall section to create said external protrusion around said holder.
 8. The lamp defined in claim 6, including a tubular support element wedged within said holder with one end contacting said partition. 